or should I say our beloved, wild llama?
His wool is very long and he is way overdue for a haircut (shearing). The summer is hot and we needed to help a llama out. In order to shear him though, we had to catch him first. Now, Mike is a super nice llama. He has never spit at us or been mean to us, but he definitely likes his space. He doesn't want us to get too close. He doesn't want us to pet him. He definitely doesn't want us to catch him.
I've never had to catch a llama before. Well, let me tell you, it was the most exhilarating and terrifying experience. After a long time of offering him buckets of food and trying to get him to follow us into the catch pen, he did. That's when it got tricky. It was just Mike and Brian and I all hanging out in a little pen. He was walking back and forth trying to find a way of escape, and I was just staring at his ginormous claws, praying that we would make it out alive.
Brian started to pet him, until he could get him in the corner of the fence and held him down while I slipped the halter and lead over his head. Phew! We did it, and without even a scratch. It took a whole lot of patience.
After we caught him, he followed us around like a puppy dog, so we took him for a little walk outside the animal pen.
He even let us touch him.
The closest I have ever been to this guy.
We even let him eat out of the feed bin in the garage...spoiled!
Then came time for shearing...
Look at that huge pile of wool! Look how tiny Mike looks now.
I can't believe I ever thought he was intimidating.
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